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Description
  • The Wheelchair Hockey League (WCHL) was created for the enjoyment of participating in hockey. The purpose of this league is to provide an appropriate means for persons in wheelchairs to have the opportunity to play hockey, and have the chance to engage in the competition and excitement of the sport. Our League includes players in manual and electric wheelchairs. The league currently has over 40 players, divided into five teams.

    Players range in age from 10 to 29, and have disabilities that include Cerebral Palsy, Muscular Dystrophy, Spina Bifida and Spinal Cord Injury. Players use a variety of sticks to play, depending on their upper body strength and ability to grip the stick. Some players add on a dowel though the blade of the stick and other players use "Double Sticks". Double Sticks are two sticks fastened together, with the blades forming a V, and strapped to the player’s legs and chair frame.

    Our games are played 4 on 4, with goalies. We play 2 to 3 times per month, year round. Our games are played at Ward Presbyterian Church in Northville Twp. and the Beech Woods Recreational Center. We are just underway with our 5th season of competitive hockey. Our season will be 15 Weeks in length culminating in a tournament to decide our Wheeler’s Cup Championship! Our seasons are played over the course of 10 months (September through June).

    The league was developed and is run and organized by the players with the assistance of parents and volunteers. The WCHL has a league sponsor, the Southfield Hockey Club. This was a result of the WCHL playing a game on ice! Our very first ice game took place on September 6, 1998, as part of the Mega Skate Fundraiser for the Muscular Dystrophy Association. The game on ice is one of the many special events the WCHL holds throughout the year including the annual All-Star game, Awards Banquet, Season, Playoffs, another ice game nicknamed the Battle on Ice and tournaments. We even have competed against the world’s best wheelchair hockey teams at international tournaments in Toronto and Minneapolis. Just Don't Sit There, Play Hockey!!!